Sunday, February 28, 2016

Child-Self Porn Legalized in New Mexico: Sexting

This week, Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico signed legislation allowing children of ages 14 to 18 to legally produce child pornography (of themselves) and as well as distribute such pornography through electronic transmission and "sexting" because the majority of legislators believe children should have this right.

“I believe this bill is an important step forward in protecting our children from exploitation. As a former prosecutor who specialized in child abuse and sexual abuse cases, I know how important it is that we protect our kids from these abhorrent criminals. I don’t support the so-called ‘sexting’ amendment, as I believe the reasoning behind it is misinformed and it was not carefully considered.”-- Gov. Susana Martinez

In announcing she had signed the bill, [Gov.] Martinez pointed out she could not line-item veto the provision — only bills dealing with spending can be partly vetoed — and either had to sign the bill in its entirety or veto it.

She also called on lawmakers to revisit the sexting issue in the 2017 legislative session.

After being revised several times on its way through the Legislature, this year’s bill ended up increasing the potential prison time to 10 years — 11 years, in some cases — for child pornography possession, and ramping up penalties for manufacturing and distribution, as well.

The legislation, House Bill 65, is intended to fix a situation created by a 2014 New Mexico Supreme Court ruling that effectively said 18 months was the maximum sentence for possession, no matter how many images the offender possessed.

The law increases the sentence for possession of child pornography to 10 years from 18 months; increases the sentence for distributing child pornography to 11 years from three years; and increases the sentence for manufacturing child pornography to 12 years from nine years. It passed the Senate on a 40-0 vote and the House 64-0.

Under the new law, teenagers between 14 and 17 who send explicit images of themselves to one another will not be prosecuted for possession of child pornography. Senators added the exception in an amendment to the House bill, expressing concerns that teens engaging in consensual behavior could face criminal charges.

Debate on the exemption for teenagers sparked some of the highest drama of the 30-day legislative session that ended last week, with staffers for Attorney General Hector Balderas’ office walking out of a Senate committee hearing in protest. Later, on the Senate floor, Sen. Lisa Torraco, R-Albuquerque, moved to oust members of Balderas’ staff from the full Senate debate on the bill, saying, “The attorney general has not been helpful in this process.” Senators agreed, and Balderas’ staff members were barred from the floor.

Approval of the [sexting] amendment, supported by state senators from both parties, caused a staffer from Attorney General Hector Balderas’ office who was acting as an expert witness to storm out of the room during a senate committee hearing earlier this month. Balderas’ office pushed hard for the legislation initially but opposed the amendment, arguing that it would allow adults to pay or pressure minors to make child pornography.

Supporters of the amendment, however, argued that not exempting teen sexting would lead to arrests and jail time for teenagers who, in the words of Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, are simply “being young and dumb.”

Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park, even said during committee that she would filibuster the bill if the sexting amendment wasn’t added.

“These kids are active at this age,” Wilson Beffort said at the time. “If you are a parent of a boy who goes to jail, it’s really serious.”

Following a 2014 New Mexico Supreme Court decision that ended the long-standing precedent of allowing prosecutors to charge child pornographers with multiple counts based on the number of images or videos they possessed, those who possessed child pornography were only sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The bill has already sparked plenty of controversy. But defense lawyers insist that majority of adolescents are not aware of the severity and legal consequences of sexting, a common trait in the Smartphone age. . . .

According to the journal Pediatrics, teens who sext are more likely to be sexually active in less than a year. They are also likely to have multiple partners, pay little attention to birth control, and do drugs and alcohol. The study concluded by saying sexting was the new “normal” of teenage sexual behavior.

Most states have not updated their child abuse image laws. But supporters of the New Mexico bill hope other legislatures take a cue and do the same. [Democratic State Senator George] Muñoz, who pushed for sexting reform and an amendment for stiffer penalties against child pornography, said “Our laws have to change with technology.”

The state attorney general, Hector Baldera slammed the sexting proposal and deemed it as dangerous. “I cannot support an amendment that weakens protection against teenagers from predatory activity and creates a dangerous new child exploitation loophole,” he said in a statement.